Recommendations for the conservation of the wild onions (Allium) gene pool in the Northwestern Federal District of Russia

Abstract

Abstract. Relevance. Preservation of the plant genetic diversity is necessary for carrying out largescale breeding activities in order to improve existing economically important species and create varieties of cultivated plants. The priority method is the in situ conservation. Hence is the relevance of studies of vulnerable crop wild relatives (CWR) in the Northwestern Federal District of Russia (NWFDR) for designing recommendations on their in situ conservation.Materials. The materials used in the present work were the herbarium collections of the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (WIR), of the V.L. Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LE), as well as the literature data, results of expeditionary surveys by VIR in 1946, 1948 and 1949, and from 2005 to 2020. The species included in the regional Red Data Books (RDB) were analyzed, data from GBIF and CWR open databases, and materials and maps of the Agroatlas used.Results and Discussions. Six species of the genus Allium, i.e. A. angulosum L., A. oleraceum L., A. schoenoprasum L., A. strictum Schrad., A. vineale L., and A. ursinum L. have been identified and proposed for conservation in the Northwestern Federal District of Russia. Maps have been built, numerous data sources, as well as the author’s own observations, analyzed. Conservation recommendations have been developed for each species based on their vulnerability.